Spending fight freezes war bill

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Going into Wednesday night, a new version -- reflecting further cuts -- was expected to be introduced by Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.).
AP Photo

Republican leader John Boehner has told Obama he will support a relatively clean war supplemental, and the Ohio conservative issued a statement Wednesday respectful of the president’s decision to replace Gen. Stanley McChrystal as the commander in Afghanistan. But by telling their members to vote “present,” Boehner and other leaders are also tossing an election year challenge back to Democrats, telling the majority to carry the war costs alone if it also insists on the teachers funds.

This sets up what is sure to be a painful vote for liberal Democrats, torn between their opposition to the war and loyalty to Obama. Much as the president won a similar skirmish last year, it will be harder for him to repeat now as the costs and casualties continue to mount.

Obama stressed Wednesday that policy on Afghanistan will remain consistent even with the change of command. But the president has also put himself in a position where he owes a big debt to his new commander, Gen. David Petraeus, who could have tremendous sway given his ties to Republicans and his record leading the military surge in Iraq.

“If there’s going to be a change, it needs to be seamless. And obviously it needs to be a credible alternative, and Petraeus is that,” Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin (D-Mich.) told POLITICO. But some Democrats may be leery, given recent testimony by Petraeus indicating that he leaves open the possibility of asking for more U.S. troops in Afghanistan if the need arises.

When Obama authorized 33,000 more troops last December, the understanding was it was the full number needed to carry the U.S. up to July 2011, when the administration hopes to begin some drawdown.

“And there’ll be no more new introduction of troops?” Petraeus was asked at a recent Senate hearing. “That is not the intention right now,” he said.

When pressed by Sen. Ted Kaufman (D-Del.), the general elaborated. “ I owe the president my best professional military advice; that’s something that’s a sacred obligation with our troops. I would never rule out coming back and asking for something more. I think that would be irresponsible.”

Libtard dumbcrats stuck on stupid. Just like the marxist fascist 0zer0 regime. The libtard dumbcrats are all at war with America. Just like the war against Arizona for taking on illegal aliens, and the Gulf War against Barrack Petroleum.

0zer0 once again fails, and it is everyone else's fault. The repubs were right when they said 0zer0 is "thin skinned".

0zer0 can't plug the hole in the gulf. He can't plug the hole in the economy. He can't plug the hole on jobs. He can't plug the hole in the deficit. He can't plug the hole in housing. He can't plug the hole in the banks. He can't plug the hole in the car companies. He can't plug the hole at AIG. He can't plug the hole at Freddie & Fannie. He can't plug the hole in healthcare. He can't plug the hole in Wallstreet. He can't plug the hole on the border. He can't plug the hole in Iran. He can't plug the hole in N.Korea. He can't plug the hole in Palestine. He can't plug the hole in Gitmo. He can't plug the hole in Iraq. He can't plug the hole in Afghanistan. BUT HE SURE CAN PLUG McCHRYSTAL'S HOLE!

It is truly amazing to to see the incompetence, arrogance, petulance, and hypocrisy of the libtard dumbcrats and their Dear Reader Leader the Campaigner In Chief 0zer0 destroy this country piece by piece.

The marxist fascist libtard dumbcrats keep doing more of the same failed policies that the country has rejected over and over. If they don't get their way, they play Chicago Thug Politics or try to use the courts to push their agenda.

This country has seen through the lies of the 0zer0 Regime. November can't come soon enough so we can throw out the libtard dumbcrats that have run the congress since 2006, and destroyed this economy and country. Then in 2012, we will throw out the marxists, fascist narcissist petulant man-child Dear Reader Leader Campaigner In Chief 0zer0 and his regime.

Teachers have been hired in excess, and paid in excess for decades. Time to nip this union corruption in the bud. Right now. Let the states and local disticts carry their own load. They have already done great harm using the nation's children as hostages.

Good for them. It's about time someone stepped up and said ENOUGH ! And stopped Obummer and the Democrats in their tracks. No more spending, no aid to the States and absolutely no more unemployment extensions ! The American people are FED UP ! In the elections yesterday all those kicked to the curb voted for those bailouts of wall street and the auto companies and for the perpetual unemployment benefits. Wait until November the Democrats are TOAST ! Now Obummer wants to save more union jobs with taxpayers money ? Don't think thats going to happen. The people have had enough of his bologna.

The legislators in Washington had better realize that the people are FED UP with the spending and bailouts. Those that vote for it can expect to be kicked to the curb in November. No matter how they try to justify it the people have had ENOUGH ! The Republicans need to pull the rug out from Obummer and the Democrats agenda. In November believe me, that is just what the people will do.

Good Lord! These are exactly the same republicans who had been throwing away billions of U.S. tax dollars as bribes to foreign governments in the years they had been the Majority in Congress, and during the Bush years... despite Cato's publishing of findings that our foreign aid don't work! Yep, they were wasting billions of U.S. dollars on foreigners as if money grows on trees, and they are determined to pinch on America's voiceless poor?

The Afghanistan war has already cost this country $40 billion dollars. Know what? I'd save on writing about the cost of the wasted Iraq War, lest I;'d be thinking that these Republicans would even sell off their mothers to continue the Iraq War for its oil!

Israel, alone, gets from the U.S. $2.04 billion in military aid (up from $1.98 billion this year) in addition to $840 million in economic support funds. The total amount of US aid is at around $3 billion, for many years to Israel alone. Egypt gets $1.7 billion to be nice to Israel. Pakistan receives $798 million. When will our government understand that these bribes don't make America safer!

Yeah sure, the Republicans want America's poor destroyed while they suck up to foreign governments to help their countries. I don't think that anyone, with dual citizenship, should be allowed to serve in our Congress. It tempts betrayal to America. Have Americans forgotten that our Constitution demands that American citizenship for anyone means that he/she gives up loyalty to other countries? And to think that our Congressional Lawmakers must have forgotten this!

Some say that the Republicans spent when they were in control so that makes it all right for Dems to continue to spend. The questions I have are why all the childishness? Where is the change? What kind of change were people looking for when they voted for Obama (the man with no experience, no voting record and virtually no background check other than the books he wrote about himself)? This spending bill is an example of one of the changes that are necessary in Washington. They are trying to get money for our troops to do their job. What the heck does money for teachers unions have to do with it? Blame the Republicans for not passing it? Nonsense, take the UNRELATED expenses out and our troops WILL have the money they need because Republicans WILL join Dems and pass the bill. CHANGE, Start the CHANGE now. REAL CHANGE regarding the BAD habits of Congress. No more of this playground, kiddie mentality and finger pointing "He did it first" crap.

The ad hominem attacks on Obama are played out. There are plenty of actual policies one can take issue with in a respectful manner. However once you start tossing out personal attacks, you've lost your credibility in my opinion, and I stop reading your comment. Just ignore the Trolls as they say...

I personally don't see much of a difference between the Dems and GOP.

They are both for big government, one prefers a nanny state, one a police state.

Neither party promote liberty, privacy, or freedom.

We have no anti war party.

Both parties have privatized profits while socializing losses.

Both parties are in the pockets of the military-industrial-congressional-complex. They are robotizing our military without any input from American citizens, they monitoring all of our telecommunications via Echelon, they are privatizing our military, militarizing our civilian police, and they have eroded the dollar's purchasing power more than 95% since 1913.

The Dems tax and spend, the GOP borrows and spends.

Plain and simple, we have a plutocracy. The rich are calling the shots to make themselves richer, and partisan politics is a distraction for the masses. If you are pulling the partisan line, and you are not protecting your own vast wealth, you've been duped. America is being looted by the super wealthy, be they bankers, war profiteers, auto execs, unions...

I don't trust either, however if I had a gun to my head and had to choose, I'd pick the Dems solely because they do not reject science as much as the GOP.

For decades there has been an unholy alliance between Democrats and public sector unions. The unions would get Democrats elected and the Democrats would allow the unions to pillage the taxpayer through overly generous salary, benefit and retirement packages.

As Thatcher said, "socialism only works until you run out of other people's money". Well, you've run out of taxpayer money. Now it's time for this farce to end.

Everyone knows what has to happen. The states must declare bankruptcy and renegotiate those lucrative contracts. Public employees are going to have to work harder, be more productive, retire later, pay more into their own retirement, and pay more into their own health care plans. The current situation cannot continue.

Federalizing this socialist plot is not a solution to the problem. It only allows the public sector unions to drag down the entire country before they have to face reality.

Plain and simple, we have a plutocracy. The rich are calling the shots to make themselves richer, and partisan politics is a distraction for the masses. If you are pulling the partisan line, and you are not protecting your own vast wealth, you've been duped. America is being looted by the super wealthy, be they bankers, war profiteers, auto execs, unions...